Of women and warriors
by MzDany
Summary: Captured and enslaved by female warriors on an alien planet, the allmale away team must fight for their survival. Meanwhile, Captain Janeway comes up with an unusual rescue plan…
1. Default Chapter

Of Women and Warriors  
By Dany  
Rated R

**Summary: Captured and enslaved by female warriors on an alien planet, the ****all-male away team must fight for their survival. ****Meanwhile, Captain Janeway comes up with an unusual rescue plan…**

The jungle was steaming.

It had rained barely an hour ago; one of those short, but intense showers common on both continents of the planet. The shrill cries of several birds resonated across the small clearing by the river. The water's currents were moving lazily, and small waves lapped gently at its banks. Everything was peaceful.

Suddenly the quiet was broken by a humming sound. The noise increased gradually, and a shadow fell onto the ground next to the riverbank. It grew rapidly until… the Delta Flyer settled itself firmly with a '_Thud'_.

A minute later four figures, clad in green and brown Starfleet camouflage uniforms, walked down the lowered ramp. Their phasers were holstered, but their tricorders were flashing in all directions.

Commander Chakotay sighed as he looked at his readings. "Just what I was afraid of."

"Yup, the captain was right when she warned us that the planet's ionic interference might mess with the tricorder readings," Lieutenant Mike Ayala replied.

"Same here," Harry Kim chimed in, "I can clearly hear about half a dozen different animal sounds just in this immediate vicinity, but my tricorder shows no coherent life signs."

Chakotay tapped the combadge at his chest. "Away Team to Voyager."

Static.

He tried it again with the same results.

"Great," he mumbled. "Wonder what else is going to malfunction."

Lieutenant Commander Tuvok spoke up. "I suggest we implement the modifications agreed upon on Voyager and switch our sensors to only indicate edible vegetation. After all, this is the primary purpose of this mission."

Chakotay nodded. "Agreed. But it's not exactly comforting to know that we won't be able to clearly detect anything else but stationary plants."

Mike Ayala flashed a weak grin. "I guess we'll just have to revert back to our roots and use our eyes and ears as early warning systems."

They reprogrammed their tricorders, closed the shuttle ramp and headed off into the underbrush.

**EARLIER...**

Twelve hours earlier Voyager's long-range scanners had picked up the M-class planet and changed course, heading for its coordinates. Supplies were running low and Neelix had been overjoyed when he heard the news that a planet with a possible abundance of foodstuffs had been found. When they broke orbit they had come face to face with a picturesque planet about half the size of earth. It contained only two separate continents connected in several locations by land bridges. The rest of the planet was water.

When they began their preliminary scans, however, they soon discovered that the planet was surrounded by an atmosphere of ionic particles so dense that only a scanning beam set at maximum power had been able to penetrate it. The information the beam had transmitted, though, was very encouraging. The climate on the continents was sub-tropical, and most of the areas were covered by enormous rainforests. They read some tens of thousands of humanoid life signs, but no traces of advanced technologies. And most importantly, the scans indicated a virtual cornucopia of edible fruits, plants and roots, not to mention a wealth of fish and wildlife.

Because of the strong ionic interference, a direct beam-down had been deemed too dangerous, so the assigned away team had taken the Delta Flyer. The Captain and the Commander had agreed on a landing site that was close to a large vein of roots, yet still a safe distance from any populated areas so contact with the natives could be avoided.

Before he boarded the shuttle she had kissed him full on the mouth, and the memory of where else those lips had kissed him the night before sent a surge of desire through him. Chakotay remembered the night she had finally come to him, months after their return from New Earth. By that time he had pretty much given up any hope of ever being more than just a good friend to her. He had almost convinced himself that he had misinterpreted all of her smiles, gestures and other signals throughout their stay there; that his memory had simply magnified their significance. Then, one night exactly six weeks ago, his door chime sounded at two a.m. and there she was, dry-eyed and determined. Her words "I can't pretend any longer" had penetrated him to the core. He had invited her in, and neither one of them had slept alone ever since.

Standing before the shuttle, he pulled her close and returned her kiss with equal passion. "Back before you know it," he murmured.

She stroked his cheek with her thumb. "Hurry," she smiled, "because I'm much too used to waking up next to you now."

He had kissed her nose and flashed her those deadly dimples before he disappeared into the Delta Flyer.

**PLANETSIDE...**

On the surface of the planet the members of the away team reached the location of the root accumulation about a hundred yards away from the shuttle and were quickly engrossed in digging up the gnarled bulbs to categorize them and determine their nutritional value.

The attack happened so fast that none of the men even knew what had hit them until they were all flat on the ground. Chakotay found himself face down, his body pinned to the ground by a considerable weight on his back. He felt a hand at the nape of his neck and turned his head just in time to avoid his face being ground into the earth. He reached behind him and blindly swung at the weight on his back. His fist connected with something solid and to his satisfaction he heard a grunt of pain. The weight shifted and suddenly he was roughly flipped onto his back. He blinked to clear his vision from the dirt that made his eyes water. Now the shape of the metal tip of a vicious looking spear, hovering only inches from his face, came into focus. The warrior holding it was a fierce-looking woman, lithe and muscular, with glistening green skin that matched the color of the foliage all around them perfectly.

'_With that kind of camouflage they've probably been monitoring us since we landed and we never knew_,' flashed through his mind as he steadily held her gaze. The woman was dressed in a leather bodice and a short leather skirt. Her long, brown hair hung in several braids over her shoulders and was adorned with feathers and small, colorful stones. Her dark eyes had a distinctly oblique shape that made her look strangely Oriental. Despite the hostile expression on her humanoid face she was quite beautiful. She held a spear with two hands, and he suddenly noticed that, directly beneath her arms, a second set of arms of the same length protruded, each holding a long dagger.

His let his eyes flicker to his left to look for the other members of his away team.

Harry, Mike and Tuvok had apparently been overpowered just as swiftly and were just pulling themselves up into sitting positions. They were surrounded by half a dozen equally fierce-looking warriors, all armed; and all were women.

"Hold phasers," Chakotay told them, somewhat unnecessarily, for his crew knew not to make any moves that could be interpreted as hostile by the women.

He turned his gaze back to the warrior towering over him and opened his mouth to speak, but before he could address her, a shout came from his left and he turned to see two of the warriors pulling Tuvok up and jabbing their spears and daggers at him.

"Hey, hey, he did nothing to provoke you!" Chakotay shouted at the women.

He turned back to his captor. "This is a member of my crew, and we are here on a peaceful mission of exploration…"

"He is a _Sahni_, and he is trespassing on our territory. He will be punished!" the woman snarled, cast a murderous look at Tuvok, but nevertheless barked an order at her warriors who reluctantly ceased their prodding. Chakotay frowned in confusion and put up his hands. "You are mistaken. He is of a race called Vulcans, and his homeworld is far from yours. They are a peaceful people, as are we. And if we have indeed trespassed, we did so unknowingly."

The woman's response was to bring her spear a little closer towards his face and glowered at him. "Peaceful? None of you People From The Sky are peaceful. You might look different from the people of our legends, but you are all the same. _And we will protect what is ours_."

With a wave of her spear she motioned Chakotay to stand. Mike and Harry did likewise. Swiftly, the women warriors took the away team's phasers and tricorders. Chakotay made another attempt at communication. "Please, I'd like to speak to the leader of your tribe. I can explain our presence here."

Chakotay was a tall man, but his female captor was at eye level with him as she moved closer and growled in his face. "Oh, you will. Indeed you will."

**THE VILLAGE...**

The band of warriors took their prisoners on a relentless march through the jungle, stopping only once for a brief rest by a picturesque waterfall when Harry Kim simply lacked the strength to get back up again after stumbling over a root. The women thwarted any communication between the crewmembers, but the four men needed all of their energies to keep up with the warriors' brisk pace anyways. Their captors neither asked them any questions nor did they answer any. Chakotay supposed that this would come later, after they reached their final destination.

That finally happened several hours later when the thick underbrush suddenly gave way to reveal a wide valley that had been cleared of any trees. At least a dozen fields with crops in various stages of harvest were scattered around the valley floor. On top of a large hill on the far side rose an enormous, wooden fortress, completely surrounded by a deep moat that was fed by a swift stream. Watchtowers were set up in all four corners of the bastion and a high, formidable looking wall of thick tree trunks encircled it all. The warriors took them towards the fortress. As they passed the fields, Chakotay saw several dozen men tending the crops, closely watched by more armed females. The men wore only short kilts and sandals, and their dark brown skins glistened with sweat. Chakotay remembered the words of the leader of their captors when she first saw Tuvok.

'_He is a Sahni.'_ These mens' skin color was the exact shade of Tuvok's. And these Sahni were obviously servants or prisoners of the women. He now understood why they had reacted with such hostility towards Tuvok. He exchanged a glance with the Vulcan, who had obviously come to the same conclusion.

They crossed the bridge over the moat and entered the fortress.

Once inside, Chakotay realized that his first assumption had been wrong; this was no fortress, there was an entire village within those walls. Dozens of houses, huts and other buildings lined up on either side of them, but the largest structure towered a few yards ahead of them, just beyond the central square. It was a three-story stone mansion with elaborate balconies and a large, covered patio that ran along the entire front of the house. Half a dozen intricately carved wooden pillars held up the overhang. The brown-haired leader headed straight for it. Chakotay, Tuvok, Harry and Mike had no choice but to follow. When they had reached the porch, the woman turned to them.

"Wait here," she instructed them, pointing to a wooden bench. Then she went through the front door without another glance. Under the watchful eyes of two guards the exhausted officers slumped onto the bench in the shadow of the patio. Moments later a man with a tray appeared in the doorway. His skin was green like that of the women. He was dressed better than the men from the fields, but his demeanor was just as subdued. He regarded them curiously as he handed them bowls of water, but made no attempt at communication.

The four men drank greedily until another female guard stepped through the door.

"The Queen wishes to inspect you," she said, motioning them to their feet.

She led them through an enormous entrance hall and towards a massive, ornately carved wooden door. "You men will bow your heads until Queen Loor addresses you," she told them sternly before she pushed open the door.

Queen Loor was seated before a roaring stone fireplace on a large, high-backed chair draped with thick, furry animal hides. A woman of powerful visage, she sat with her legs crossed, two of her forearms lying along the arms of her chair, the other two folded across her stomach. Although clearly middle-aged, her body was as lean and muscular as that of the leader of their captors, who now stood motionless to the right of her Queen's throne. From the look on her face, the older woman had doubtlessly received a complete report from her warrior while Chakotay and his crew had waited outside.

There was an almost tangible aura of authority around her, and when she rose from her chair to approach them she did so with the graceful and confident movements of a woman descended from a long line of nobility. Her floor-length robe rustled softly as she circled the little group, looking them up and down with an openly curious look in her onyx eyes. When her gaze fell upon Harry Kim, she stopped and reached out, turning his face towards her.

His almond-shaped eyes, so much like her own, seemed to puzzle her, for she studied his face intensively for some time. Then she moved on to stand before them once again.

"Who speaks for you?" she asked in an imperious voice.

Chakotay lifted his head. "I do," he replied, looking directly at her.

"I am disturbed by your presence here," she said harshly and without preamble. "The peace of my entire tribe has been compromised by you."

Chakotay was starting to get used to the unfriendly demeanor of these women, but he was also getting tired of being treated with such hostility. He took an exasperated breath before he calmly replied, "Those were not our intentions. I have tried to explain our presence to your warriors, but to no avail." He cast a glance at the brown-haired woman next to the Queen's throne who returned his gaze with a scowl.

"It is _me_ you need to explain yourselves to!" Queen Loor snapped. Her eyes traveled over him once more, taking in his uniform and features which were doubtlessly completely alien to her. Then she abruptly turned and strode back to her throne.

"People From The Sky are not welcome here," she stated firmly after she had sat back down.

Chakotay took one step forward. "Then accept our apologies for the intrusion and let us go, so we can return to our ship and move on."

The Queen's eyes blazed. "So you can come back with more of your people and attack us! How weak of mind do you think I am?"

Sensing her dangerous mood, Chakotay swallowed his pride and bowed his head to her. "Your majesty, I speak the truth when I tell you that this is our first visit to your world. We are not familiar with your customs or traditions, and we were also not aware that there is obviously some existing hostility between your people and other…People From The Sky."

This seemed to appease the Queen, for her face relaxed slowly and she leaned forward in her chair. "Very well, I will forgive your insolence this one time. But you will learn to properly conduct yourselves from now on, or any disobedience will be severely punished."

She exchanged a glance with her warrior, before she continued.

"Let me fill you in on some of our history.

"Many seasons ago," she began, "during the early years of my mother's reign, People From The Sky arrived on the Sahni continent across the water. They were all men. My mother's rival, the Sahni queen Seratani, practically welcomed them with open arms, thinking she could forge an alliance with them to help her destroy my mother's army."

Queen Loor smirked. "She was a fool. It did not take long until the strangers turned against her. They had the audacity to demand from her that all the slaves and servants be given their freedom." The Queen and her warrior shook their heads in unison, as if this was the craziest thing they had ever heard. "Seratani refused, of course," she continued, "and the strangers almost exterminated the Sahni with their superior weapons before the warriors managed to overpower and kill them."

To emphasize her words, Queen Loor picked up one of the away team's phasers from the table beside her. "Weapons such as these."

Chakotay started to speak, but she cut him off with a sharp hand gesture. "I am not interested in hearing any of your excuses. The strangers had also used sweet words to worm their way into Seratani's confidence, and as long as I am alive there will be no repeat of the tragedy that befell the Sahni. They are our enemies, and if they are to be slaughtered, it will be by _us_."

Chakotay shook his head. "I can assure you that we have no such notions. We are travelers and have merely stopped on your world to replenish our food supplies."

He tapped his chest. "I am Commander Chakotay of the Federation Starship Voyager, and…"

The Queen interrupted him with another impatient swipe of her hand. "I do not care to know your name, or where you come from," she snapped. "Once you have proven your worth within the slave community then _I _will name you."

Chakotay cast her an incredulous look. "Slave community?"

With a smirk the Queen waved to her guards. "Show them to their new home."

**THE SLAVE QUARTERS...**

The slave's longhouse was an enormous building that ran along the entire length of the southern wall. Chakotay estimated it to be at least 150 meters long.

"_Spirits, how many slaves do they have?" _he thought bleakly when he recognized it for what it was. Thin curls of smoke rose from several circular openings of the slanted thatch roof. It was constructed out of sturdy logs, which seemed to be the predominant building material for most other buildings within the village as well. Their guards led them to the larger one of the two entrances, both of which were guarded by two heavily armed warriors. With her spear, the lead guard motioned them inside and shut the door behind them. It was murky inside. The only illumination came from the flickering flames of several cooking fires, and the air was heavy with the scents of unfamiliar food, wood smoke, and the dried sweat of many men.

The away team found themselves the focus of multitudinous pairs of eyes. All conversation stopped, all motion ceased as hundreds of brown-skinned, four-armed men of all ages turned to stare at the newcomers. Chakotay kept his face neutral, but his eyes scanned the expressions all around him, looking for any sign of hostility. He saw, instead, a myriad of unexpected emotions; astonishment, confusion, wonder, fear.

Suddenly there was movement to his left and several of the slaves stepped aside to reveal a thin, balding man, his face lined with age. All four of his hands were curled around a sturdy walking stick. He detached himself from the throng and slowly approached them.

"You are People From The Sky, aren't you?" he asked cautiously, peering up at Chakotay. His voice was as raspy as sandpaper. It was impossible to judge his age.

"That's what the women have been calling us, yes." Chakotay replied.

He pointed to himself. "My name is Chakotay," he said, "and these are my crew members; Tuvok, Mike Ayala, Harry Kim."

"The Queen has named you already?" The old man blinked in surprise.

Chakotay shook his head. "No. These are the names we have carried since birth."

His words were met with shocked exclamations from the slaves around them. Eyes widened in wonder and the expressions on many faces were that of utter astonishment.

The old man recovered first. "This is unheard of," he exclaimed, shaking his head. "This only happens to servants who have never been slaves."

He noticed the puzzled expression on the four strangers' faces. "Your home must be far from our world."

"You have no idea." Chakotay muttered before he formally addressed the man he sensed to be the leader of the slave community. "You are right, we are far from our home, and we came here to find food and water when we were attacked and taken captive by the warriors of this tribe."

The old man grunted. "You are an important capture for the Sultaar warriors. It has been a very long time since People From The Sky last visited our world. And that was not a pleasant visit." He reached out, touched Chakotay's arm lightly and steered him towards a burning pile of wood surrounded by circle of stones. When they were all seated around the fire the old man looked at Chakotay. "The Queen has named me Kiar, and I will answer your questions."

Chakotay nodded his thanks. He was intensely aware of the silent stares of the crowd of slaves all around him. "It's true that we know nothing of your society here."

"The first thing you need to know is that, no matter where you came from, you are now the property of Queen Loor of Sultaar," the old slave said solemnly.

"Property?" Mike Ayala cried with an incredulous look. "Wait a minute. We are no one's _property_."

"You are now, my friend." Kiar's expression was grave. "We are all spoils of war, and the Sahni and the Sultaar have been at perpetual war with each other as long as anyone can remember." Dozens of heads nodded in confirmation of his words.

"Then, a few seasons ago, a battle unlike any other took place on the shores of Sahni. The warriors fought each other for five sunrises without pause, but in the end a stalemate had to be admitted, for each side had lost too many warriors and slaves. Most of the Sahni you see here were captured during that battle and have been slaves to the women of Sultaar ever since."

He said this with no trace of malice in his voice and Chakotay realized with a start that this man didn't know any other life.

Kiar regarded the four men across from him thoughtfully. "I see from the expression on your face that you are unaware of the way of life on our world. Please, let me explain…

"Since the beginning of time, or so it seems, all males, whether they be Sahni or Sultaar, have been ruled by women. We have only two stations in life: To be either servants or slaves." More heads bobbed, and murmurs of agreement could be heard.

"Take me for instance," the old man continued. "In my home village on the Sahni continent I was a servant, as was every man there. But I was also a weaver. Most servants are craftsmen of some kind; cooks, potters, weavers, tanners and so forth. But there, only Sahni men can be servants, whereas all Sultaari men will never be anything else but slaves, used only for the hardest and most demeaning of work. Every now and then a Sahni woman might take a Sultaari slave to her bed for pleasure, but these are exceptional cases, for usually this honor is only bestowed upon lucky Sahni servants."

He emphasized his words with a vigorous nod, "Oh yes, to be a giver of pleasure is a much sought-after position indeed, for it has many privileges. A man with the necessary skills, and lucky enough to attract the attention of a high-ranking warrior, is most envied among us."

Only Tuvok remained expressionless, the three Humans exchanged incredulous looks. "That's the way it has always been and will always be," Kiar said matter-of-factly. "As you can see it works the same way on this, the Sultaari continent of our world, just the other way round."

Suddenly Kiar changed the subject. "My friends, do you know who the woman is who has brought you here?"

Chakotay shook his head. "She never saw it fit to introduce herself to us."

Kiar smiled and his eyes almost disappeared into the ancient wrinkles of his face.

"You have been seized by the mighty Niukia, second daughter of Queen Loor, and the successor to the throne since the first daughter perished in the Great Battle. And if she chooses you to be the one to pleasure her tonight, you would do well to recognize this honor and prepare yourself for it." He was now looking straight at Commander Chakotay.

"I have no intention of being her bedmate," Chakotay growled.

Kiar shook his head. "You have no saying in this matter," he said casually, "she will take you, whether you are willing or not."

"We shall see about that," Chakotay said tightly.

Kiar's face had taken on a troubled expression. "You cannot defy her. It's just not done."

Chakotay leaned forward, closer to the old slave, but spoke loud enough for everyone else to hear. "Where we come from, suppression such as this here does not exist. Men and women are equal to each other, and are free to make their own choices. There is no superior gender, no separation of the sexes. Men and women share friendships, marry, raise families, work side by side with each other…" he was interrupted by exclamations of disbelief from all around him.

Even Kiar's eyes were bulging with skepticism, and not a little fear. "Sacrilege!" he cried, "Blasphemy. How can something like this exist?" He looked around, as if searching for something. "If _they_ hear you speak like this you will not live to see another day…"

Their conversation was interrupted by the sound of heavy footsteps drawing closer. Two Sultaari warriors were approaching their circle with determined strides. The other slaves scrambled out of their way and Chakotay tensed as he lifted his head to meet their eyes. One of the women glared at Kiar. "What is all this talking about? What are you telling them, old man? What are they telling you?"

Kiar bowed and submissively held two of his hands up to the warriors. "Please, we are merely trying to teach these strangers about the enlightened ways of our world to help them adapt better to their fate."

The woman chuckled humorlessly. "What is there to teach? They will obey, or they will die. That is all they need to know." She pointed to Chakotay and Harry. "Follow me. You have been summoned by our most revered Queen and her daughter."

**ACT OF DEFIANCE...**

They were taken to another structure; this one was built out of quarried stone and obviously served as a bathhouse. Several torches lighted the inside, and the heat radiating from a large stone hearth was stifling. Two large kettles hung over the fire, and in the flickering light Chakotay could see half a dozen stone basins cut into the floor before them. One of them was filled with steaming water. Then, under the watchful eye of their armed guards, a silent slave bid them by way of hand gestures to take off their uniforms. Harry gave Chakotay an uncomfortable look, but the commander shrugged. "The way things have been going so far, you will either take a bath or they will make you take one." He reached down to pull off his boots. With a last glance at the guards Harry followed suit. When the two men were naked, the slave motioned them to enter the pool. The water was hot, but not scalding, and scented with an aromatic herb. Chakotay immersed himself up to his neck, and the slave slowly poured more water over his head, and then proceeded to rub his wet hair with the same sweet-smelling leaves before following the same procedure with Harry, who shared the commander's basin. The eerie silence, in which all this took place, unsettled the young ensign. When the slave turned to fetch something from the back of the bathhouse, Harry whispered, "What do you think is going to happen, Commander?"

"I'm not sure, Harry." Chakotay replied, even though from the look in his eyes he seemed to have a pretty good idea. They both remembered the old slave's words regarding the women's requests for pleasure.

The silent slave returned with two bundles, which he unwound to reveal two lengths of cloth made out of a coarse linen-like material. He motioned the two men out of the pool and wrapped one of the cloths twice around Chakotay's naked waist. The material reached to just above the commander's knees. The slave then tied the kilt with a leather cord. A pair of rough leather sandals, slightly too small, made up the rest of the clothing.

When they were dressed, Harry looked between him and his first officer.

"Throw in an 'Eye of Horus' amulet and we could pass for ancient Egyptians," he remarked wryly.

"Speaking of amulets..." Chakotay reached for his discarded uniform and removed his combadge. He asked the slave for another leather cord, then looped that through the Starfleet insignia and tied it around his neck. "Can't think of any other place to put it," he said with a crooked grin at Kim's puzzled look. He motioned for Harry to do the same.

"Try not to let them take your combadge. We need the universal translator, plus Voyager will have a better chance of finding us through them." Chakotay said.

The guards took them to the manor house. Inside, however, two females took Harry down the corridor towards the Queen's chambers, whereas Chakotay was hustled up a stairway to the second floor. One of his guards pushed open a large set of double doors and motioned him to enter. Inside, he found himself in a large chamber that was sparsely, yet elegantly furnished. Across from the stone fireplace was the bed, the largest piece of furniture in the room, piled high with furs. Several tapestries depicting hunting scenes and festivities adorned the walls and on the floor lay half a dozen colorfully woven rugs. A bedside table, two large, exquisitely carved chests and a sturdy table with two chairs made up the rest of the furnishings.

The brown-haired warrior Kiar had called Niukia stood before the open window, gazing out at something.

Niukia's demeanor, as well as her clothing, had changed. While in the jungle, she had been the fierce warrior and hunter; now there was an air of regality around her. In place of her leather bodice and skirt she now wore a tunic-like dress of dark blue. The silky material fell down to her calves and hugged her body tightly, accentuating every curve underneath. She wore her hair loose and unadorned, the luscious strands falling softly about her shoulders. She turned and openly regarded his near-naked body for a while before she spoke.

"The slaves have probably already told you who I am, but I will tell you again, just to make sure you understand," she said authoritatively. "I am Niukia, daughter of Queen Loor, and First General of her army of Sultaar."

Chakotay looked at her unimpressed.

Annoyed that her introduction did not have its desired effect, Niukia crossed the room with quick strides until she stood right in front of him. Now her gaze fell onto the combadge around his neck and she wrapped her slender fingers around it.

"Who allowed you to wear this ornament?"

"It's a necessity, not a decoration," Chakotay spoke for the first time. "This device allows me to understand your language. Without it, we cannot communicate." His hand came up to clasp her wrist before she could rip the combadge from around his neck. Niukia's oblique eyes narrowed even more at this unexpected move and in return she gripped his wrist with her second hand. Their eyes locked in an unspoken challenge as she pulled on the Starfleet insignia, while he pulled in the opposite direction. The tug-of-war went on for several seconds, and Chakotay grudgingly had to admire this woman's strength. Suddenly he heard the hurried footsteps of the two guards behind him coming to their mistress' aid. Niukia's mouth split into a grin and she held up her hand. "No. Leave us," she commanded her warriors. Then her gaze fell back on him.

"Do not think for a minute that I need my guards in order to handle you." She opened her palm and released the combadge. Likewise, Chakotay let go of her wrist. He could see the marks of his fingers around her wrist, yet the Queen's daughter made no move to rub it. Instead she looked at him, the expression of faint amusement still on her face.

"You've got spirit. Very uncommon in a male."

"Not where I come from." Chakotay replied.

Niukia ignored his remark and instead pointed casually towards the bed. "I will enjoy being pleasured by you. Get undressed and lie down."

Chakotay did not move.

Now the warrior's amusement turned to anger and she once again gripped the combadge. "Did you not hear me, or is there something wrong with your device?"

Chakotay's eyes bore into hers. "My communicator works just fine. But I will not be forced by you or anyone to act against my will."

For a moment Niukia simply stared at him, stunned at his defiance.

"I'm not used to disobedience," she growled and for a moment it seemed as if she was going to attack him. But then her face softened suddenly.

"I must remind myself once again that you are not yet familiar with our ways," she said, "so I will be patient with you tonight." With that she walked towards the double doors of her chamber and exchanged a few murmured words with the guard in the hallway.

Only moments later the doors opened again and a male slave entered, carrying a tray with several bowls on it, which he quickly arranged on the dining table. Fragrant aromas wafted through the air. Niukia eased herself into a chair and motioned for Chakotay to take the seat across from her. He hesitated, not sure what to make of this sudden change of mood, but the various scents of the food made him realize how hungry he was. Niukia was already serving herself from the bowls, piling grilled meats and roasted vegetables onto her plate, which she ate with her fingers. When he was seated she nodded to him to help himself, and for a while they ate in silence.

There were three different types of tasty vegetables, all heavily seasoned with the same kind of spice. They were too tangy for his taste, but he was too hungry and distracted by the woman across from him to care. Niukia watched him eat with an expression he couldn't quite place.

The hot spices were making him thirsty, but when he looked around the table he realized for the first time that the slave had not brought any beverages. Seeing his searching look Niukia suddenly clapped her hands, and immediately the two guards re-appeared in her chamber, hoisting him out of the chair. The daughter of the Queen rose as well. "This audience is over, but we will meet again," she said with a sly smile, "sooner than you think."

The guards grabbed his arms and a dark sense of foreboding crept over Chakotay.

His eyes narrowed. "What kind of game are you playing here?"

Niukia was still smiling. "Oh, this is no game, I can assure you of that."

She dismissed him with a wave of her hand and Chakotay was pulled out of the room. But after they exited the mansion, the guards took him towards the central square instead of the slave quarters. In the middle of the square stood a whipping post, and next to it was a small cage, constructed out of thick, sturdy bamboo poles. One rough shove, and Chakotay was locked inside. He crouched in the darkness, for the cage was too low for him to stand upright.

The fierce heat of the spices was burning his throat and his thirst increased by the minute. In his mind he heard Niukia's words once again. _'I'm not used to disobedience.'_

The sudden realization of her intentions shot through him like a jolt of electricity. He had refused to obey her orders. Now she was making sure that she wouldn't be resisted again.

She was going to break his will though thirst.

**HARRY...**

Harry Kim was nervous.

For the dozenth time his eyes flickered back to the closed, ornate doors that led to the Queen's private quarters. He didn't know how long he had been waiting in this small antechamber, but his nervousness had only increased with the passage of time. There was not much in this room to distract him, either, as he sat on one of the few stools and once again looked over the few tapestries adorning the wall. He wondered how Chakotay was faring, when suddenly the doors opened and a green-skinned servant entered. He addressed Harry in a demure voice. "The Queen wishes to see you now."

Harry rose, and for a moment the two men studied each other wordlessly. Sensing the stranger's uneasiness, the servant leaned closer towards him. "Since this is your first pleasure audience with the Queen, it is quite safe to assume that you will not be asked to perform the honorable duty of copulation tonight, so try to relax," he said quietly.

Harry felt himself blushing at the servant's words and looked away. "But if she doesn't want me to do that, then what…?" he murmured.

"Well, you have hands and a tongue. I'm sure you can think of a few ways…"

The servant grinned when he saw Harry's cheeks flush even darker. He nodded towards the door. "Come, you mustn't let her majesty wait."

Harry crossed the threshold and found himself in a spacious room with a domed ceiling and arched windows. It was richly furnished with tables and chairs of polished wood, an enormous bed covered with shimmering silky sheets, and an assortment of lounge chairs, ottomans and divans draped in a variety of furs and silks. Queen Loor reclined leisurely on one of those divans, and from her vantage point her eyes traveled openly over his scantily clad body. Despite the crackling hearth a chill ran down Harry's bare back. He felt like a piece of meat being inspected by the butcher as he stood tensely before her.

"You really are a strange-looking people," she said sincerely. "But your eyes are beautiful. Come closer."

She waved to the green-skinned servant.

The servant approached them carrying a tray with two goblets. The Queen handed one to Harry. "We call this beverage '_Karach_'. It is made from fermented Kara berries and aged for at least two seasons." She took a sip, relishing the flavor.

"It heightens my senses for the pleasures of the flesh."

Queen Loor motioned for him to drink. "I am allowing you a cup, because it may help you to better perform your duties to me."

Harry made no move. "I'd rather have strawberries with my champagne," he replied dryly. Next to him the servant blanched visibly and his tray started to shake slightly.

The Queen very much comprehended the implications of his words. Her body stiffened and she virtually impaled the young officer with her glare. "For your impertinence I should let you hang by your feet from a branch of the tree in the central square."

She inclined her head slightly, and faster than Harry could blink, her two guards were on him. One of them yanked his arms behind his back. The cup fell to the floor, spilling its contents. The second guard put two of her hands on his chest and started to play with his nipples while, at the same time, her third hand reached under his kilt. Harry swallowed hard as her thumb drew lazy circles around the tip of his manhood, and against his will he felt himself stir.

All the while the Queen was watching his face with a bemused expression.

Harry felt like he was standing in the midst of his own dream. The entire situation had such a surreal quality to it that he was sure he would wake up at any moment. He pressed his eyes shut. '_This is not happening to me_,' he thought, but when he opened his eyes again, the Queen was still lounging before him, plus the two hands rubbing his nipples and the third hand stroking him under his kilt felt far too real to be a dream. Harry began to perspire. When the Queen saw that she rose from her divan and moved towards him with feline litheness. Standing very close to him, she inhaled deeply.

"Your scent," she whispered. "So different, so unfamiliar." Her mouth curled into a predatory smile. "I like it."

Her eyes traveled downwards where Harry's member was now standing at attention in all its stiff glory.

"Impressive," she said with glinting eyes. "But I'm afraid that the time for _that_ has not yet come. You must first prove to me how skilled you are with your tongue."

She turned back towards her divan. En route she let her robe slide from her shoulders and down her body. Naked, she laid back onto the divan with one foot on the floor, the other propped up on the leg-rest. She was completely unperturbed by her little audience; in fact, she seemed to enjoy the attention she commanded from her guards and her servant, who were all watching her with a reverence normally reserved only for a deity.

Another nod of her head, and the guards released their grips on Harry.

"Come here," she said huskily while she repositioned herself slightly. Harry felt a cold shiver of dread run through him.

Although he was acutely aware of the looming presence of the guards behind him, he did not move.

The Queen's eyes narrowed until they were mere slits, and when she spoke, she did so with icy authority. "I am giving you a choice; you can either get over here of your own accord and pleasure me, or you can be brought here by my guards with your hands tied behind your back, your head held in place between my thighs, and my servant's rod up your back hole."

She smiled cruelly as Harry's expression changed to horror. When her words finally registered as images in the young ensign's head, he was paralyzed with shock. A moment later the Queen casually signaled the green-skinned servant, who immediately put down his serving tray and began to untie his tunic. This moved Harry out of his momentary stupor and he took a deep breath. "Wait." He closed his eyes, trying to mentally brace himself for what was to come. "All right, you made your point."

The Queen grinned. "Glad to see that we now understand each other."

Slowly, Harry approached the reclining woman and knelt between her legs.

The last thing he saw before he lowered his head was Queen Loor's fervid face.

**AFTERWARDS...**

It was very late into the night when Harry was escorted back to the slaves' quarters. Almost everyone inside was asleep, but Mike Ayala was concerned about Chakotay and Harry, and was therefore still awake when the young man eased himself onto the sleeping pallet next to him. The look of misery on Kim's face disturbed Mike even more than his absence had. He handed Harry one of the extra blankets Kiar had given him earlier when the bedding had been dispersed among the slaves.

"Harry, what happened? Where is Chakotay?" he whispered. "Are you all right?"

But Harry just turned his back to Mike, curled himself into a ball on the pallet, and wordlessly pulled the blanket over his head.

**CHAKOTAY...**

When dawn broke over the Sultaar village, Chakotay was raging with thirst. By mid-afternoon he was delirious. The tropical sun bore down on him without mercy as he lay on the dirt floor, completely unprotected from its fierce rays.

His tongue was so swollen it seemed to fill his whole mouth, and much as he willed himself to, he couldn't get the thought of water out of his mind. A few times he actually thought he heard water rushing, but saw nothing when he turned to look for the source of the noise. On the other side of the central square, a group of men were working on splitting logs, and one of them was taking a drink from a water bucket.

Chakotay quickly looked away.

The sun was just starting to sink when a group of slaves returned from a day of working in the fields. Mike Ayala was among them, forcing his dead tired feet to move across the central square, when he happened to spot movement in the bamboo cage next to the whipping post. He looked closer.

"Chakotay!" Ayala recognized the slumped form inside the cage and was already running towards him before his guards could react. He dropped to his knees and reached between the thick poles, shaking the semi-conscious figure of his commander.

"Chakotay, what happened? Are you ok?" His eyes traveled quickly over his first officer's body, but he saw neither blood nor any other indications of injuries. Yet he could see from the expression on the older man's face that he was clearly in some kind of agony.

Chakotay's delirious, sunken eyes were unfocused. He made a garbled exclamation that sounded like 'Kathryn' to Mike, but before he could respond, several hands grabbed the lieutenant's hair and neck, and he was pulled to his feet. A burly female guard yanked him backwards and slammed him against the wall of the nearest building with such force that his head bounced off the stones. She grabbed his wrists with two of her hands while the other two went around his throat and between his legs, gripping his testicles with the strength of a steel vise. The pain was excruciating, making his eyes water. He was pinned to the wall like a helpless insect, and the guard hissed in his face. "Step out of line without permission one more time and your blood will drip from these walls, slave. Understood?" She emphasized her threat with another squeeze of his genitals, grinning at the look of pain on his face. With her other hand still firmly wrapped around his throat, Mike could only manage a weak nod. She released him with a grunt and shoved him towards the direction of the slave quarters. Mike cast another quick look at the bamboo cage, but he could not make out his commander's features anymore.

From the shaded porch of her mother's mansion, Niukia witnessed the commotion in the square with an amused expression on her face. _What was it with those Men From The Sky?_

She grabbed the jug of water next to her and walked slowly towards the bamboo cage, relishing what was to come. The Man From The Sky stirred as she unlocked the cage door and crouched beside him. Niukia dribbled some water from the jug onto his face to get his attention. His cracked lips opened and she slowly poured a bit of the cool liquid into his mouth. The stranger tried to swallow, but his swollen tongue was in the way and he erupted into a coughing fit. "Slowly," she coaxed him. "Only a little at a time, or you will choke." Patiently she kept on feeding him little gulps of water and bathing his hot face in between her ministrations.

After a while the stranger's eye became clearer and focused on her. He remained silent, but she knew he recognized her. Her beautiful face split into a smile that never reached her eyes. "Now we will continue where we left off last night. I believe that you have had enough time to contemplate your situation, don't you think?"

Not waiting for an answer, she rose and exited the cage. Outside, she handed the jug to a guard. "Give him some more water, then clean him up and bring him back to my quarters."

With that she turned and strode back towards the mansion.

Less than two hours later, a re-dressed and freshly bathed Chakotay was escorted back to the quarters of the Queen's daughter.

Still weak from his ordeal, but with his head held high he stood before her dining table where Niukia reclined in her chair, nibbling on a piece of fruit.

"So, how did you enjoy your stay in the cage?" she said mockingly.

When he did not reply she continued lightheartedly, "This could turn into your permanent quarters, you know. _If_ you choose to remain so contumacious."

He looked down at her. "I have no desire for any relations with you."

"Still defiant, I see." She leaned back in her chair.

"Tell me," she asked innocently, "aren't you the leader of your little team?"

It was a rhetorical question; she had been right there when the Queen had questioned them the day before. Chakotay suspected where she was going with this, and a clump of ice started to form in his gut.

"And as their leader, you are responsible for the well-being of your group."

Her posture was relaxed, her tone almost conversational. "I think that you will obey me for the sake of the lives of your men."

By now Chakotay's heart was pounding, and he clenched his fists to suppress the blazing fury in his chest. Niukia took a sip from her goblet before she continued, her voice casual, as if she was discussing the weather. "Do you remember the waterfall where we rested on the way here? Yes? Then you will recall the scaffolding in the water."

Chakotay remembered indeed. He had been curious about the wooden structure standing in the middle of the large pond at the base of the waterfall. It wasn't really a scaffolding, merely two thick wooden poles rising about four feet out of the water, with a sturdy crossbeam connecting them.

Niukia took an oblong pink fruit from the bowl in front of her and started to peel it slowly. "The pond is inhabited by hundreds of Demon Fish. Their teeth will rip the skin off a man faster than I can peel this fruit." She looked at Chakotay intently. "They have a taste for blood and they are always hungry."

She took a bite from the fruit before she continued. "I think the _Sahni_-skinned one will be the first. Once he is strung up by his feet and lowered into the water, it will be an amazing sight to see the water boil around him as the fish clean the flesh off his skull."

Chakotay clenched his jaws at her nonchalant description of this hideous torture.

He glared across the table, his eyes throwing daggers at her. She seemed unperturbed by the murderous expression on his face.

Then he lowered his head, thinking. After some contemplation he hissed, "You will not harm them if..?"

"Please me, and they will live."

"Do I have your word?"

Niukia's eyes narrowed. "Nobody has ever dared to question my word," she exclaimed hotly. Chakotay just continued to glare at her in silence.

"Fine. You have my word." She inclined her head towards her bedstead.

"Now get on the bed."

Chakotay glanced at the bedstead and took a deep breath. _I'm so sorry, Kathryn!_

**UNDER PRESSURE...**

Niukia felt the sweet drowsiness of complete satisfaction creep over her. Moments ago she had collapsed on the bed next to Chakotay, utterly spent. The muscles of her inner thighs were still quivering in the aftermath of one of the most powerful climaxes she had ever experienced.

After she had given him her word, he had quietly walked towards her bedstead, removed his kilt and laid onto his back on the bed. She had followed him, shrugging out of her dress along the way, throwing it aside without a glance. She looked down onto the alien stranger stretched out before her. In matters of sex Niukia normally preferred the company of her female peers, but this male was certainly worth looking at. He was taller and more muscled than any male servant or slave she had ever used. His manhood was of impressive proportions, even in its current limp state. He lay in quiet dignity, staring at the ceiling, letting her examine his body. Looking at him, she felt the stirrings of excitement spread through her body. In one swift motion she straddled his chest.

It gave Chakotay a glint of satisfaction to see the large, purple bruise just above her hip bone, where his fist had hit its mark during the initial attack in the jungle.

Niukia brought her face close to his. "You will use only your tongue on me. Bite me, or do anything rash, and you will watch every one of your men die before it's your turn."

One of her hands reached out and brought Chakotay's head close to her sex. Her mound was completely hairless, and Chakotay could smell the musky scent of her arousal.

"Now pleasure me," she said huskily.

Chakotay had complied.

Now he lay next to her, motionless. She knew he was waiting for further instructions from her, but she didn't have any. She was sated for now. _Besides_, she mused with a sly grin, _there is tomorrow, and the next day, and the next…_

"You may go now," she mumbled sleepily and watched him with half-closed eyes as he swung his legs off the bed, re-wrapped the kilt around his waist and walked towards the door without once looking at her. There was a profound dignity around him, an aura of pride and strength, as he let the guards lead him out of her chamber. Niukia knew she should have felt triumphant at having bent this man to her will, but instead she felt an inexplicable sense of kinship. _Why?_ she wondered.

The answer struck her out of nowhere. _This man is a warrior among his people_, she thought, _maybe even…equal to me?_

Men as warriors; what an absurd idea!

She knew she should report this thought to her mother, but she was too drowsy to move.

**LATER...**

The next day Niukia strolled through the village towards the site where the slaves were busy erecting an addition to the village's crop depository. The time of the harvest was near and the fields were abundant with grain and vegetables.

They would eat well this winter.

Chakotay and the other three men of his crew were amongst the workers. She watched them as they sat in the shade of the depository, taking a short break from their work. Chakotay and the young male her mother had picked as her toy were sitting next to each other, talking quietly. Actually it was Chakotay who did most of the talking, the younger man only nodding here and there, but when their guards called them back to work and their short conversation ended, the almond-eyed one's obvious air of despondency seemed to have lifted somewhat.

The Sahni-skinned male seemed to be the one with the most stamina for physical work. The other three were already showing signs of weariness after only two days of hard labor. The almond-eyed one looked especially exhausted, she thought with a grin, for she knew that he had been summoned to her mother's quarters once more. Just as she had called Chakotay back into her bed last night. He continued to perform his duties to her complete satisfaction, but he was as silent and indifferent as he had been the first time. He spoke to her only once; it had been last night after she had addressed him with 'You may leave now, slave.'

He had turned to her and said in his deep, dignified voice, 'Chakotay. My name is Chakotay.' Then he had left without any further comment.

Now she watched him as he and the Sahni-skinned one strained to heave a large beam over their heads to pass it on to two slaves on the scaffolding above them. His muscles were bulging with the effort and the sweat was dripping from his head. She moved closer until she stood almost next to him. Chakotay ignored her.

Suddenly his hand slipped and he lost his grip on the log. The heavy piece of wood came falling towards him, but Niukia reacted with lightening speed. She grabbed the log with all four of her hands and heaved with all her might. The beam came to a halt a centimeter above Chakotay's head. The next moment he had re-established his grip on the log and together they stemmed it upwards into the hands of the waiting slaves.

Once free of the log, Chakotay peered at her. "Thank you," he said quietly.

Niukia nodded curtly, returning his gaze with a soft expression before her demeanor changed and she was again the dominant warrior.

She looked over the four men. "I came to tell you that tomorrow you will be joining the work crew going up the South Mountain for the tea leaf harvest. You will leave at first light, for the ascend is long and steep. Rest well tonight; you will need your strength in the morning." She turned to leave but stopped before Chakotay.

"Not you, though," she said with a slight grin. "You are needed here."

That evening, during a meager evening meal, the Voyager crew members moved to a corner of the slave quarters.

"This trip tomorrow would be our chance for an escape attempt." Chakotay said.

Tuvok looked thoughtful. "I agree," he said, "however, I believe that careful planning is in order, as the warriors will doubtlessly be more watchful of us out in the field than within this controlled environment."

"Right," Mike Ayala chimed in. "And we also have to take into consideration that we are going to be split up." He looked at Chakotay. "_She_ already said that you won't be going, after all." There was no need to name names, for they all knew who he was talking about.

"And if that is the fact, then it is very likely that Harry won't be going, either." Mike cast a look at the ensign who sat quietly next to the commander. Ever since their nightly summoning to the manor house began, Harry had become more and more introverted, but the melancholy on his face spoke its own volumes. Chakotay had been trying to keep the young man's spirits up with gentle council, but so far he had had only limited success.

The others did not press Harry to participate in their conversation.

Chakotay nodded and looked at Mike and Tuvok. "Then it'll be up to you to make a break for it and somehow make it back to the shuttle."

"And it's a long way to the shuttle." Mike sighed.

Tuvok spoke up. "I have a sound recollection of the route taken from the initial point of attack in the jungle to the village. Therefore I believe that I am the one best suited to follow a reversed course…"

"You mean, _we_." Mike Ayala cut in.

Tuvok looked at him dispassionately. "No disrespect, Lieutenant, but you would merely slow me down. Vulcans require neither rest nor nourishment to the extent Humans do. Besides, your task would be to give me as much of a headstart as possible by keeping the guards' attention diverted."

"Tuvok is right." Chakotay concurred and looked at the Vulcan. "Of the four of us, you would have the best chance of outrunning your pursuers."

Mike was not happy with this conclusion, but he saw the logic behind it, and the away team spent the next half hour discussing various means of escape until, inevitably, two females warriors arrived in their midst to escort Chakotay and Harry once again to the royal manor house.

**TEA PICKINGS...**

Early the next morning, the twenty slaves selected for the tea leaf picking were assembled in the central square. Tuvok and Ayala were among them, and true to Mike's assumption, Harry and Chakotay had been ordered to stay behind.

A dozen heavily armored females made up the party's protective entourage. The slaves traveled lightly; each one carried only a water-skin, a blanket and several large, empty burlap sacks in which to gather the tea leaves.

'_You will be on the mountain for about a week, and then a second party will join yours to help carry all the filled sacks back_.' Kiar had told them last night during the evening meal. '_It's hard work, especially since the tea bushes have sharp thorns, but at least you'll be eating better up there than you ever will down here, because you are allowed to consume all the meat the women are able to slay_.'

Mike remembered looking at his bowl of watery river snail stew, their main staple since their arrival, his mouth actually watering at the thought of grilled meat.

At the commands of several guards, the slaves hoisted their gear and lined up to leave. Chakotay and Harry watched their departure from their vantage point on the scaffolding of the depository. Chakotay exhaled heavily and sent a silent prayer up to the heavens for his crew members' safety.

TO BE CONTINUED…


	2. chapter 2

The sun was getting ready to set when the weary group finally arrived at their destination, the campground just below a steep outcropping of rocks about two-thirds up the South Mountain. Some of the warriors had obviously gone ahead, for there were already several campfires blazing, and animal carcasses were stuck on spits above the flames, their fragrant aromas wafting though the balmy air.

Next to some tall trees Ayala could make out three wooden structures; one of them was a sturdy-looking shed with no windows and a door with a heavy bolt on it.

"This is where they will keep the filled sacks of tea leaves," the slave next to him said, having seen his inquisitive look. "The other two shacks are the women's living quarters."

"And where are ours?" Mike asked.

His question was answered when the warriors ushered them all past the shacks and towards a wide, rectangular hole in the ground. One woman retrieved a wooden ladder from one of the shacks and lowered it into the hole. Obediently the slaves began to climb down into the hole one by one. "They've got to be kidding," Mike muttered to Tuvok, but they had no choice but to follow suit.

The hole was about eight feet deep and long enough for all twenty slaves to comfortably lie next to each other. Mike was surprised to find the bottom of the hole covered with a mossy grass that proved to be surprisingly soft. Not long after the men had settled in, two women lowered the grilled meats down to them along with several buckets of water. Then they hoisted a large wooden grate in place over the hole.

"Home sweet home," Mike said sarcastically between mouthfuls of food.

Tuvok remained silent, chewing diligently. Mike knew that the Lieutenant Commander, like most Vulcans, abhorred meat, but logic dictated that Tuvok needed to gain strength for his upcoming intentions by any means necessary.

Darkness was approaching quickly, and soon the men were no longer able to see each other in the murky hole. Conversations hushed, and before long most of the slaves were asleep. Mike very much wanted to go over tomorrow's plans with Tuvok once more, but he knew it was too risky. In these close quarters any of the slaves could overhear them and thus put their scheme into jeopardy. He felt his own eyelids growing heavy; the day's exertion and his full belly finally caught up with him and he was soon fast asleep.

Tuvok, on the other hand, was in deep meditation. His mind once more minutely retraced the entire route their captors had taken, from the point of the initial attack until they had reached the village, and from there on the trip up the South Mountain.

He concluded that, even at a steady pace, it would take him the better part of an entire day to reach the Delta Flyer.

The length of the route back to their original landing place didn't bother him; he remembered another trek undertaken, this one a seeming eternity ago, on his home planet of Vulcan. It had been a solitary pilgrimage to the sacred mountain of Selaya, and he had walked for forty days through the desert, enduring days of blistering heat, nights of chilling cold, sandstorms and nocturnal predators. He had carried nothing but a simple knife with him. His only nourishment during the entire time had come from the raw flesh and blood of the desert animals he was able to catch. Many times during the arduous trek he had battled his emotions as they threatened to manifest themselves through fear, despair and loneliness. But when he had finally arrived at the foot of the sacred mountain, more dead than alive, he had nevertheless emerged from this self-imposed trial stronger than he had ever been.

He stored his mental map in a compartment of his mind and moved on to do a few more meditative mental exercises until his mind was calm enough for him to sleep.

**THE ESCAPE…**

The slaves woke to the sound of the wooden grate being removed from the lip of their hole. The ladder once again appeared and the men ascended in an orderly fashion.

Their day had begun.

A well-trodden path led them further upwards, and after a short trek they arrived at a wide glade overgrown with tea leaf bushes in full bloom. The women immediately made themselves comfortable among the soft, mossy grass that carpeted the entire ground while the slaves got under way with the leaf picking.

Although Mike tried to be as careful as possible, his hands and arms were soon bleeding from numerous tiny pricks from the vicious thorns. After a while he heard Tuvok cough and watched with hooded eyes as the Vulcan calmly put down his sack and walked towards the nearest water bucket. Mike waited until he had had a long drink, then quickly strode towards him. He yanked the wooden ladle out of Tuvok's hand.

"Leave something for the rest of us, will ya?" Mike snarled as he dipped the ladle into the trough to drink.

Tuvok's eyebrows shot up and he reached for the ladle. "I was not finished yet, Lieutenant."

"Yes, you were, as far as I'm concerned." Mike tried to keep the dipper out of Tuvok's reach, but the Vulcan was faster, and a short tug-of-war resulted. Out of the corner of his eyes Mike could see two guards approaching them, and he let go of the ladle to give Tuvok as mighty shove. The Lieutenant Commander took two steps backwards, then lunged himself at Ayala, and the two men landed in a tangled heap on the ground, grappling with each other.

The two guards broke into a run and tried to break up the fight. The instant they reached them, the two men immediately ceased their fighting and attacked the guards. Tuvok managed to yank his guard's dagger out of her hand. His fingers shot to the side of her neck, and a well-placed Vulcan neck pinch rendered her unconscious. In the meantime, Mike was busy trying to keep his guard pinned to the ground. The two men cast one quick look at each other before Tuvok hurled himself into the underbrush.

Mike looked up and saw two more guards sprinting towards the spot where Tuvok had just disappeared. He jumped up and threw himself directly into their path. He tripped one of them, but the other one simply sidestepped him and aimed a powerful punch at the side of his head. Pain exploded at Mike's temple and he fought to remain conscious. His foot came up and caught the woman in the chest, but the kick wasn't strong enough to stop her. Hands grabbed at his hair. "_May your feet be light as feathers, Tuvok_," he thought just before he saw the wooden club coming towards him…

**THE CHASE…**

Tuvok moved with a certitude born out of lifelong discipline of mind and body.

Speed was of the essence, as he knew that if his pursuers caught up with him, death was imminent. The only way to lose them was through sheer endurance. Confidently he leapt over roots and other obstructions on the ground and used the guard's dagger like a machete to clear the way before him. Like a marathon runner, he kept his speed steady and his breathing slow and deep. He was in excellent physical condition, but he also had a long and treacherous way to go, and the flimsy leather sandals on his feet were more of a hindrance than a help. However, his sensitive Vulcan ears were an advantage to him as he listened for both the sounds of pursuit behind him and for any sounds of danger from the jungle all around. At the same time, he was trying to keep his bearings solely from the mental map in his head.

He moved down the mountain as swiftly as possible, knowing that he needed to reach the shuttle before nightfall. Even with his superior survival skills he didn't dare navigate in the dark and thus risk losing his way.

The shouts of alarm from the glade were quickly receding, but the unmistakable sounds of pursuit were following him steadily. He wondered how many warriors were tracking him, and he increased his speed slightly.

At the foot of the mountain the jungle loomed, waiting for him in silent vigil. Tuvok paused for a moment to get his bearings, then plummeted into the dense foliage. Not a second later an arrow burrowed itself into the trunk of a tree where he had just stood.

Tuvok ran.

**IN THE JUNGLE…**

_Exhaustion. Extreme fatigue. A serious weakening of body and mind._

Tuvok felt it all as he continued to surge ahead through the unrelenting jungle environment. The canopy of tree tops above him was too dense to correctly make out the position of the sun, but he was fairly sure that by now it was well into the afternoon. It had been quite some time since he had last heard definite sounds of pursuit behind him, and for the first time in hours he slowed down his pace a bit. He did not believe for a moment, however, that he had lost his pursuers, for he was fairly certain that they knew where he was headed; at least one of their guards on the mountain had also been among their captors from the jungle.

Suddenly, out of the periphery of his vision, he saw movement to his right. Instinctively he jerked to the left, away from any imminent danger, but with his mind momentarily distracted he failed to see the dangerously precipitous slope suddenly gaping before him. Before he knew it, the trees were gone and he was tumbling down the steep embankment. He flailed his arms, trying vainly to break his fall. A sudden, sharp pain in his right side made him draw a jagged breath just before he crashed into a rotting tree stump.

For a moment he was dazed before he willed the pain aside and pulled himself to his feet. His knife was gone, lost during the fall. No time to look for it. The piercing pain in his side made him look down. Blood was oozing from a large, jagged gash, but he had nothing to staunch the flow with. Tuvok crouched behind the fallen tree trunk, peering up at the embankment and caught a glimpse of green skin, the glint of a spearhead. As he watched the hill he gradually became aware of a steady sound behind him; the rushing of water. He had reached the river, whose winding path would lead him back to the clearing where the shuttle was parked. He was almost there.

Looking back, he saw the riverbank not three meters behind him, its far bank lined with tall reeds sticking stiffly out of the water. Cautiously he crept towards the river and eased himself into its gurgling waters. With a deep breath, he submerged himself and swam towards the far bank. He surfaced amidst the thicket of reeds. Out of sight of his pursuers he hung suspended in the water, the wound in his side throbbing painfully, the cold seeping into his weary body. Tuvok closed his eyes and took another deep breath. One of his earliest lessons in Vulcan meditation had been to train his mind to compartmentalize physical discomforts such as pain and elemental extremes, and now seemed the perfect time to put his training to use.

Gradually his metabolism slowed and his breathing became more even as his lips formed the silent words of the Chant of Serenity.

The three warriors who just arrived on the other side of the river never noticed him.

**MEANWHILE…**

Chakotay and Harry were still working on the extension of the depository when they noticed the commotion at the main gate. A warrior, leading a bound Mike Ayala on a rope around his neck, had entered the village and immediately hurried towards the manor house. Chakotay saw Niukia step out onto the porch just as the warrior reached the patio steps. After some gesticulating and exchange or words, the Queen's daughter broke away from the woman and came straight towards them with long, determined strides, closely followed by four of her guards. Even from the distance Chakotay could see her eyes blazing. When she came within reaching distance, two of her hands shot out towards Chakotay's chest and roughly pushed him against the depository wall. She pulled out her hunting knife in the same motion and pressed it against his throat. "You've planned this all along, haven't you?" she hissed into his face. "But it will do you no good. Your Sahni-skinned friend will be caught, and then he will die alongside you."

She signaled her guards. "Take them to the cage. No food or water until the fourth one is caught and brought back here."

The women took them to the central square, where Mike had already been thrown into the cage. With all three of them, the small prison was hopelessly crammed. They were forced to huddle close together, trying to make themselves at least somewhat comfortable. There was a nasty bruise and some dried blood on the side of Mike's head, but despite their precarious situation, the Lieutenant flashed his crew mates a crooked grin as he relayed the details of Tuvok's escape to them.

**VOYAGER…**

Many miles above them, Captain Janeway paced before her desk in her ready room. An hour ago the search team had reported back from the planet with the same results as the other two teams before them: No combadge signals, no bio-signature readings.

The heavy atmospheric interferences also made their readings next to indecipherable.

For four days, the search teams' shuttles had been orbiting and scanning the planet's two continents from the upper atmosphere for any sign of the missing away team, but other than the empty Delta Flyer, positioned at its correct landing coordinates, they had come up with nothing. Kathryn had decided to leave the shuttle where it was for now, a hopeful gesture, for if there was _any_ chance the away team might find their way back to it from wherever they were…

She wrung her hands in frustration. At least they had not found any bodies yet. _That was a good sign_, she kept telling herself.

The search teams' scans had revealed about a dozen villages of various sizes within a reasonable distance from the Delta Flyer. '_The next logical step would be to start knocking on some doors down there,'_ she thought to herself and turned back to the topographical map of the search area on her computer screen.

Suddenly her combadge chirped.

"Paris to Captain Janeway." Tom's voice sounded excited. "We've just received a transmission from the Flyer. It's Tuvok!"

**KATHRYN'S PLAN…**

Sickbay's double doors had barely opened before Kathryn Janeway burst into the room.

Her chief of security lay on a biobed, still clad only in his torn linen kilt and sandals. Upon his arrival on Voyager in the Delta Flyer a few minutes ago, Janeway had ordered him beamed directly to Sickbay. The Doctor was hunched over him, dermal regenerator in hand, treating a large gash in his side.

"Maybe I should just print 'Finishing Line' on the door threshold, the way this woman always sprints in here," the EMH mumbled without ever looking up.

Kathryn came to a stop at the head of the biobed and looked down at the Vulcan. "It's good to have you back, Mr. Tuvok."

She smiled at him, but he saw the unspoken questions and concerns in her eyes and came to the point without preamble. "Captain, the others were unharmed up until yesterday, but because of my successful escape, these conditions are very likely to change, so we must proceed with utmost urgency."

Tuvok had always admired the iron control the captain showed at moments such as this. Janeway wasted no time with other questions, simply replied, "Agreed. Meet me and the rest of the senior staff in the briefing room right after your clearance from Sickbay. We will work out an immediate recovery plan for the away team."

She squeezed his shoulders reassuringly, gave the EMH an unmistakable 'Get him back on his feet as fast as possible' look and left to gather her officers.

The four remaining senior officers of Voyager met in the captain's briefing room immediately after Tuvok had been released. They were seated at their respective places around the briefing table, and everyone was painfully aware of Commander Chakotay's and Ensign Kim's empty seats.

Dressed once again in his black and gold uniform, Tuvok recounted the events of the past few days in his customary emotionless voice; from their capture to a detailed description of the fortified village and the women's amazonian society up to the current, precarious situation of the remaining crew members on the planet.

Captain Janeway sat at the head of the table, listening quietly, her fingers steepled before her and a blank expression on her face until Tuvok relayed the royal women's nightly requests for Chakotay's and Harry's presence at the manor house. Her head whipped around and she stared at her chief of security with an unbelieving and pained expression for a moment before her captain's mask slipped back into place.

"Are you saying that Chakotay and Harry are down there, having sex with beautiful women every night?" Tom shook his head, trying vainly to hide his grin. "Why don't _I_ ever get to go on the really interesting away missions?"

A kick from B'Elanna made him wince sharply.

The Vulcan chief of security turned to him with a penetrating stare. "First of all, Lieutenant, these carnal interactions are taking place after a full day of taxing physical labor. I am sure that the Commander and Ensign Kim, if given a choice, _which they are not_, would prefer a good night's sleep instead."

Tom's grin had disappeared, but Tuvok was not finished yet. "Secondly, may I remind you that, if you had been part of this mission, it would most likely be _you_ instead of Lieutenant Ayala, who would be tending crops throughout the day and sleeping on the floor of the slave's quarters after a bowl of river snail stew as your only nourishment."

Now it was the pilot's turn, together with every one else in the room, to stare at the Lieutenant Commander.

"Tuvok, if I didn't know any better, I'd guess that you are…emotionally charged."

"You have guessed wrong, Lieutenant," the Vulcan replied austerely. "I merely disapprove of your inappropriate remark."

Paris' eyes narrowed. "Hey, I never meant…"

"Gentlemen," Captain Janeway snapped. "Let's postpone any debates about morally correct behavior until _after_ we have rescued our crew members." She cast the pilot a harsh glare. "I need suggestions, good ones; not petty squabbling or inane remarks."

"Yes, ma'am." Tom mumbled.

Restless, Janeway rose and paced behind her chair. Tuvok's revelations about what was happening to Chakotay and Harry rocked her more than she could let her crew see. She felt bad for Harry, of course, but Chakotay…Kathryn swallowed hard, took a deep breath and looked over her assembled crew. "Ideas, anyone?"

"I believe that, with a woman such as Queen Loor, a show of superior strength would be the best strategy." Tuvok declared.

"A show of strength?" Janeway's brows knitted together. Tuvok knew this look well; it was his captain's mind going into overdrive. Suddenly she looked up.

"Tuvok, I think you just gave me an idea…"

**BACK ON THE SURFACE…**

Barely two hours later, ten people were assembled in Shuttle bay Two, having just finished loading up the Delta Flyer.

Captain Janeway, B'Elanna Torres, Seven of Nine, and Samantha Wildman manned the first shuttle while Jenny and Meagan Delaney, Marla Gilmore, Susan Nicoletti, and Tal Celes piled into the second. Tuvok piloted the Delta Flyer. He was alone, since most of the cargo space of the Flyer was taken up by the numerous equipment necessary to put the captain's plan into action. They touched down at his predetermined coordinates, just outside the perimeters of the valley, under cover of night. B'Elanna immediately went about scanning the village nearby.

"I'm reading their combadge signals, but they are too faint for a safe transport." She tapped the transporter controls some more before she let out an angry growl. "It's all this damn atmospheric interference."

She turned to Janeway. "If we _did_ try a beam-out, I couldn't guarantee that they wouldn't arrive in here all morphed into one. So much for plan A."

Janeway put a hand on her chief engineer's shoulder. "It's all right, B'Elanna. That's why we brought plan B along."

The women sprang into action, silently unloading half a dozen bulky, yet mobile containers from the Flyer. After only a few minutes they were all bathed in sweat and their uniforms stuck to their bodies like glue.

"Kahless, this is like breathing through a wet dish rag down here," whispered B'Elanna as she leaned against one of the metal boxes, wiping the perspiration from her ridged forehead. As a Klingon, she was usually more comfortable in a warmer climate, but the humidity on this planet was more than even _she_ was used to.

All around them the jungle was anything but asleep as the cries of nocturnal animals vibrated in the air. Janeway looked towards the distant mountain ridge silhouetted by only the faintest sliver of gray.

Dawn was near; it just hadn't made it over the mountaintops yet.

"We don't have much time left," she said, "let's finish positioning these." She grabbed one of the containers and headed off into the night. After only a short trek she reached her destination; the edge of the valley that held the fortified village. She placed the box beside a tree trunk and positioned it so that its projector faced the open area of the valley, knowing that at several other key positions her crew women were doing just the same. Picking up handfuls of leaves and twigs, she covered it up as best as possible and crept back towards the shuttles.

Ten minutes later the women of Voyager were gathered around the Delta Flyer where, inside, Tuvok had just finished the final remote check-up of the camouflaged equipment. "Everything is functioning within normal parameters, Captain," he stated, tapped several more commands, double-checked the data streaming across the console before him and finally gave Janeway a satisfied nod.

Kathryn went to the replicator in the back of the shuttle, asked for coffee and settled herself into a seat with her steaming mug.

"So far so good. Now we wait for dawn."

**CONFRONTATIONS…**

And daybreak came, approximately thirty minutes later.

Starting at the tips of the high trees and working its way down, the sunlight bathed everything it touched with a warm, yellow glow. Suddenly, the early dawn silence of the valley was broken by a high-pitched shout from one of the village's watchtowers. The call of alarm was instantly taken up by the guards from the remaining three towers, and within moments the village square began to fill with female figures, sleep-tousled yet alert, not to mention armed. All were heading towards the fortress walls, crowding into the watchtowers and onto the battle platforms to look out onto the valley.

Queen Loor and her daughter were among the warriors hurrying towards the East Tower, from which the initial warning shout had come.

The two women stood side by side, looking out over the sight before them in silent astonishment; the entire valley floor was crowded with bodies as far as their eyes could see. Hundreds, maybe even thousands of women, all dressed in matching uniforms of black with either red, gold or blue colors across their shoulders. Each woman was holding a menacing looking weapon in her hands that Queen Loor recognized as the same type of firearm Niukia had taken from the four male strangers.

The Queen had no doubt as to who these women were, and why they were here.

With intrepid eyes she scanned the silent crowd, but they were hopelessly outnumbered.

Next to her, Niukia turned to the watchtower's guard. "How could an army of such size have amassed right under your nose?" she hissed. "You were sleeping, weren't you?"

She was about to backhand the guard, but her mother calmly put a hand on her arm. Niukia followed her Queen's gaze and saw a small woman emerge from the cover of a large tree. Her own weapon was still holstered and she was dressed exactly like the rest of the alien army, but Queen Loor immediately recognized the familiar demeanor of a leader. From the frontlines of her army, two women, one of them blond, the other one dark-haired with strange ridges on her forehead, detached themselves and flanked their leader as she walked by them. The women crossed the bridge over the moat and approached the village's closed gate with determined strides. Then the leader put her hands on her hips and looked up, her blue eyes wandering over the green faces of the warriors glaring back at her.

She could clearly see the dozens of arrows and spears aimed at her from above the fortress walls, but there was no fear in her eyes; just a steely determination.

"I demand to speak to Queen Loor of Sultaar," she called out in a smooth, steady voice.

"So the Sahni-skinned one _did _make it back to his people," Niukia remarked tightly to no one in particular before she leaned forward. "And who addresses her?"

The slight woman squinted her eyes. "I am Captain Kathryn Janeway of the Starship Voyager," she answered. "And I believe you have something that belongs to me."

**WOMEN AND WARRIORS…**

An older woman came up beside the younger one, snobbishly looking down at the small alien female.

"Kathryn Janeway," she called, "you come to reclaim what now belongs to me! And what do you have to offer in exchange for their return? There is nothing we need, and nothing we would _want _that is of alien origin." The Queen looked smug.

Janeway wordlessly nodded at B'Elanna and Seven who aimed their phasers at the nearest tree and fired. The energy discharges instantly engulfed the tree in a blaze of fire.

Kathryn turned back to the green-skinned Queen and declared, "We do not want to harm you or any of your people. But we will not leave without our crewmen, and we _are_ going to retrieve them by any means necessary."

Queen Loor barked a harsh laugh. "You are a fool if you think that this little demonstration of your weaponry would intimidate me. Even as we speak, each one of your men has a dagger pointed at his throat." She held up one of her hands with a smirk. "I have to wave but one finger and your men will be dead within a heartbeat. Even with all of your firearms combined, you would not reach them in time."

Janeway exchanged a look with B'Elanna and thought for a moment. "Then there is only one thing I _can _offer you: My discretion."

Queen Loor gave her a puzzled frown.

"You see, our voyage so far has been long, and we still have quite a distance to go," Janeway continued. "During our travels we have encountered numerous alien species, many of them highly aggressive and keen on nothing but conquests. Their weapons are more destructive and their intentions far less peaceful than ours. And if the location of your world with all of its villages should somehow fall into the hands of such hostile People From The Sky, neither you, nor the Sahni, would ever be safe again."

Kathryn shrugged her shoulders innocently. "Would you really risk all that for three useless males? They're only men, after all."

Next to her, Torres bit her cheek, but Janeway's poker face never wavered.

Queen Loor was quiet, her brows furrowed as she contemplated the words of the alien woman. Next to her, Niukia sucked in her breath and her hand went to the hilt of her sheathed dagger. "How dare she threaten you! I shall…"

Her mother's sudden, powerful grip on her wrist startled her into silence. The two women locked eyes and the young warrior was surprised to see a hint of amusement rather than anger on her mother's face.

The Queen nodded to her. "Get the men."

"What?" Niukia's voice rose slightly, and immediately the Queen's look hardened.

"I mean..._you are giving in to them, _my Queen?" Niukia asked in a more muted way.

Queen Loor sighed. "It's not about 'giving in'," she explained to her daughter. "But there are times when there is more at stake than one's own pride, and I believe that now is such a time." Loor's head inclined towards the silent, alien army outside her gates. "You have seen what their weapons can do. How many of our warriors' fire-arrows do you think it takes to do that?" The Queen was looking intently at her daughter. "A wise ruler knows when the needs of the many outweigh the desires of the few, and the safety of your tribe must always be your first priority. When your time comes to rule, and you are faced with similar decisions, I hope that you will make the right choices."

Niukia stared at the floor, her mother's unassailable logic slowly calming her temper.

Then her head came up, and for a long moment she intensely regarded the small, redheaded stranger standing several yards below her.

Next to her, her mother resumed her train of thought. "Besides," Loor continued, "she has a point; they _are_ only men, and frankly, I'm already tiring of my new toy."

"I'm not," Niukia pouted half-heartedly.

The Queen looked out onto the valley once more. "You shall find a new one. Now go and get the males."

**ILLUSIONS…**

From their positions inside the cage, Chakotay, Harry and Mike had no way of following the events that were unfolding outside the village gates. Consequently, they were not sure whether to be hopeful or despondent when they saw the warrior Niukia stride across the square towards them, but the fact that she was alone gave Chakotay a small measure of encouragement. She unlocked the cage doors and waited silently while they exited the confined space and stretched their cramped muscles. Chakotay glanced at her, trying to read her face, but the younger warrior's expression was strangely calm as she motioned for them to follow her. The little group made their way through the village towards the main entrance where two other warriors were already unbarring the wooden gate. They cracked it open just far enough for the men to fit through.

Niukia stood off to the side of the door, her eyes never wavering from Chakotay's face.

"You have a good woman waiting for you out there," she said solemnly and with not a hint of sarcasm when he walked past her. Then she turned and strode back towards the watchtower.

As Mike, Harry, and Chakotay cleared the gate, the scene before them stopped them dead in their tracks for a second. But the first officer's mind quickly grasped the situation, and a tiny smile crept into the corners of his mouth.

A few feet away from them, Kathryn Janeway was waiting, standing regally before her vast army of Starfleet women.

"Keep moving," he mumbled to Harry and Mike. "Don't look surprised. Keep your faces neutral."

When Kathryn saw the three figures emerge from the gate, her heartbeat quickened, and a flood of relief washed through her. Those past few minutes she had been waiting for the Queen's answer to her veiled threat had seemed like the longest of her life. Even when the heavy gate opened, she didn't know what or who would be coming out. When she recognized her crewmen, her knees actually started to shake, but she kept her posture upright and her face emotionless.

Chakotay, however, saw her eyes sparkling brightly as he approached her. His heart pounded heavily in his chest as he willed himself to walk with even strides. Out of the periphery of his vision he saw the spears and arrows of the Sultaari warriors aiming down at them from the battle platforms behind the fortress walls.

Then, at last, he stood before her, their eyes locking, speaking silent volumes to each other.

She held out her hand and he took it. Her warm touch and loving gaze went straight to his wounded soul, and the healing process started instantly.

He wanted nothing more than to get off this planet and back home, to Voyager.

Simultaneously they turned and started to leave, but suddenly there was a whirring noise in the air, and an arrow struck the ground just before the captain's feet. Her head shot up, and she saw the Queen calmly lowering her bow. B'Elanna and Seven were already aiming their phasers, but Kathryn raised her hand, motioning for them to freeze.

The two leading women looked at each other.

"Janeway of Voyager," the Queen said formally, "I have kept my part of the bargain. I expect you to keep yours."

Kathryn nodded solemnly. "You have my word. And I shall not go back on it."

Then she turned and led her little group back to the shuttles.

Queen Loor watched the still assembled alien army. None of the females moved, but Loor wasn't concerned, determining that the women were simply guarding their leader's retreat.

Tuvok initiated the launch sequence as soon as Kathryn, Chakotay, Mike and Harry boarded the Delta Flyer. The three crafts were airborne within moments, and exactly fifteen seconds after launch, six camouflaged holographic projectors self-destructed simultaneously from their hiding places at the perimeters of the valley. With them, an entire army of female Starfleet warriors vanished out of existence to the outraged shrieks of numerous green-skinned warriors, who just now realized how badly they had been tricked.

**BACK ON VOYAGER…**

The way from the turbolift to the Holodecks seemed twice as long as usual to Kathryn as she walked down the corridor towards Holodeck Two, Commander Chakotay's present location according to the ship's computer.

On the way back from the planet, the three men had been unnaturally silent, and as much as she wanted to reassure and comfort her crew members, and especially Chakotay, the back of the Delta Flyer had not seemed an appropriate counseling location at that time.

After thorough examinations and some patching up, the Doctor had declared all three fit for duty once again, but Kathryn had ordered all four members of the away team to take some time off. As soon as work permitted, she had hurried to her first officer's quarters, just to find them deserted; but even without the computer's help, she would have known where to look for him.

The double doors swished open. She stepped into the Holodeck, and immediately onto a rocky ridge. Chakotay sat on a blanket, directly at the edge of the precipice with his back to her, his legs hanging over the edge. He was looking out onto a beautiful wooded valley that stretched seemingly into infinity below him. To his right, a turquoise waterfall roared down from a jagged mountainside and into a pool that sparkled with all the colors of the rainbow. Not far from them, a majestic bald eagle soared lazily upwards on an unseen current of air.

She could see from her first officer's rigid posture how tense he was, so she wordlessly sat down beside him on the blanket, letting her legs dangle over the edge in synchrony with his. For a while they simply sat in companionable silence, listening to the sounds of nature all around them.

"It's so peaceful here," she exclaimed after some time.

Overhead, the eagle let out a piercing cry, and Chakotay sighed. "Canela National Forest in Brazil. One of my favorite spots on Earth."

His eyes continued to follow the eagle's flight. "I could always feel my soul breathe here," he whispered.

They both wordlessly watched the eagle for a few more moments.

Chakotay finally broke the silence. "I know what you are going to ask, and, no."

"No what?"

"No, I'm not ok _yet_, but I will be." He exhaled heavily. "I believe this falls into the category of 'I must soothe my bruised, chauvinistic ego all by myself.'"

Kathryn almost grinned. "I've met quite a few chauvinists in my life, and you are most certainly not one of them." She looked at him tenderly. "I can't make you talk about it if you don't want to, but I hope you know that I will always be here for you when you are ready."

He returned her gentle gaze and nodded solemnly before he turned to watch the eagle again. It was quite some time later before he resumed talking.

"I'm worried about Harry," he said quietly. "Back on the planet, I tried to talk to him about…our situation…but I'm afraid I wasn't very successful."

"Physically, he is fine." Kathryn replied. "He was released from Sickbay about an hour ago."

Chakotay looked at her. "That's good, but it's not what I meant."

"I know." Kathryn said solemnly. "But I'm sure you did whatever you could. Maybe Harry just needs a best friend to talk to. Tom is with him now. I think he knows best how to get through to Harry. And with time, he'll be all right."

Chakotay seemed to contemplate the waterfall. Then he shook his head sadly.

"I don't think I'll ever be able to forget the way the men on this planet are living their lives, Kathryn. They seemed to have accepted their fate without as much as a question."

He made a helpless motion with his hands. "I know that slavery and indentured labor is part of Human history, but it has been abolished for so long that even our history records barely brush on it anymore. But then to suddenly come face to face with this horrible practice, and what's worse, to hear these men speak of their lot as if it were the most natural thing..."

"To them it is." Kathryn gently reminded him.

Chakotay looked angry now. "But it shouldn't be!"

"I completely agree with you." she said. "But you have to remember that before they heard you speak, these men did not know that life is different on other worlds."

She saw his puzzled look and explained. "Tuvok has told me about the things you've said to the slaves in the longhouse. How you have described life on Earth and how men and women can coexist without suppression.

"Chakotay, you have already done more for these people than I think you are aware of. You have sown the seeds for change, shown them that there are _indeed_ other ways to live.

I believe that every species possesses a fundamental instinct to be free. In the case of the Sahni and Sultaari men, this instinct surely exists as well, but has merely been dormant up until now. Knowledge _is_ power, and now that you have bestowed that power on them, I firmly believe that in time, things will change, because once the desire for freedom takes hold, nothing will be able to stop it from blossoming."

Chakotay merely shrugged his shoulders. "Maybe, but who knows when that will be? So what good is that to Kiar, or any of the other slaves? None of them will live to experience freedom."

"True, change takes time, but don't you see? It all starts with an idea. And that idea is there now, firmly implanted in their heads, and with time that _idea_ will turn into reality." Kathryn's eyes were intense. "_They_ might not be free during their lifetimes, maybe not even their sons, but their _grandsons_…"

Chakotay still looked dejected.

Kathryn sighed, studying his handsome profile. Was it her imagination or were there some lines on his face that hadn't been there four days ago? Her thoughts were churning inside her head. What could she possibly say to him that would serve as even a small measure of comfort after what he had been through for the past few days?

She drew a long breath. "Chakotay, whatever happened inside the manor house…"

At that he suddenly turned to her. "I fulfilled my part of a business deal, Kathryn. She threatened me with the lives of the crew." His eyes bore into hers. "I've never felt so violated, so soiled. The first thing I did after I left Sickbay was to take one of the longest showers ever. It didn't help, though. Memories don't wash off."

He stared into the distance again. She waited, sensing that he needed some time to put his thoughts together.

"She broke me like a bucking stallion." His voice was no more than a hoarse whisper.  
"And then she used me like her own personal breeding stud."

Kathryn's heart constricted at the look of utter distress on his face.

Instinctively, she put her hand on his shoulder, but he flinched from her touch.

She tried to catch his eye. "She might have had your body at her command for a while, but she never had your soul." Her voice was intent. "Your _spirit_ is indominable. Maybe you can draw some strength and consolation from that?"

His face became a little softer. "Thanks, Kathryn, but that still doesn't make it much easier to deal with."

She tried a different approach. "Chakotay, imagine if things had been the other way around; if it had been me who had been with the away team. If I were caught by a band of male warriors and would have to assure the safety of my crew members, _I_ would have made that same deal. Then how would you feel about _me_?"

But Chakotay was already shaking his head. "How could I ever feel anything but love for you?" he said softly.

"Exactly," she replied simply.

She moved closer to him and slowly stroked the side of his face with a gentle hand. Chakotay closed his eyes, but did not flinch as he had earlier. Instead, he inclined his head slightly, leaning his cheek into her open palm. This gesture of his consent for physical contact sent relief gushing through her and she draped her other arm around his neck, caressing the short hair at the nape of his neck.

She did not get any further than that; suddenly Chakotay's arms shot out and pulled her against his chest in a crushing embrace. His mouth clamped down on hers in a fierce kiss so full of need that her heart ached all over again for him.

He clung to her like a drowning man, showering her face and neck with kisses between whispered exclamations of 'I'm sorry' and 'I love you.'

Kathryn broke the contact with his lips just long enough to unbutton her uniform pants. He was already pulling his shirt over his head. They were naked in no time at all.

Chakotay hurriedly moved the blanket a few yards away from the edge of the cliff before he pushed her gently but insistently onto her back and moved between her legs.

Their lovemaking had thus far always been gentle and on equal terms, but today Kathryn instinctually knew that, no matter how he chose to love her, she had to let him lead; that this time he had to be in total control. It was part of his soul's healing process.

Chakotay looked down on her, this woman he loved with every inch of his body, mind and soul. A few hours ago she had saved him, and she was about to save him again.

He kissed her long and deep before he slid into her warm depths.

**EPILOGUE…**

Later, they lay side by side, facing each other. Chakotay looked into her eyes.

"My heart…in your hands," he breathed.

"I'll take good care of it," she whispered back.

Chakotay smiled for the first time since he had left four days ago. "You already have."

He seemed calmer now, his earlier look of dire distress had dissolved.

Her hair had come undone, and he was playing with one of the auburn strands, twirling it around his finger. "About what you said earlier…that only a body can be possessed, but never a mind…" He paused, as if at a loss for words.

Kathryn nodded wordlessly.

"You wanted to know whether I could derive comfort from that."

"Yes?"

He studied her face, and after a while he nodded. "Yes, I think so. I believe that, with you by my side, I can overcome anything."

On the horizon, the eagle had long since disappeared and the sun was slowly sinking behind the line of trees, but Kathryn's smile brightened the room like no holographic sun ever could.

THE END

If you enjoyed this story, and would like to read the NC-17 version of it, you can find it on my website. The link is displayed in my bio.


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